Located in the heart of the Côte des Blancs, the family has been cultivating wine for more than ten generations. First own Champagne brand 1902. Paul Lebrun founds his own champagne house in 1931. Today, his grandchildren, Nathalie and Jean Vignier cultivate 16.5 hectares of Chardonnay around Cramant and in the Sézannais (Récoltant Manipulant).

A ripe Blanc de blancs: fermented in the steel tanks, a blend of wines from 2008 to 2010. Straw colored, with intense brioche and roast notes, showing nuances of caramel and butter after some opening time. This champagne combines a medium-bodied taste and fresh acidity, showing good potential. Enjoy between 2017 and 2022.

Carte d’Or
Light bright golden colour with a green hue and moderately intense mousse. Pure nose, still youthful but layered with fresh citrus, lime, pear and plum. Medium bodied and fresh palate, balanced in a young and youthful style, yet with some bread, brioche and autolytic notes, pure and long on the finish.

Grande Réserve
Pale golden colour with a green hue and gentle mousse. Fine nose, a hint of oak, vanilla, roasted nuts and lighter fruit like pear, apple and citrus. The palate is well assembled with a fresh backbone, mild creaminess, zesty young fruit and a nutty fairly long finish.

Put on the pressure, but keep it friendly! #wine #harvest

No matter what color - red, rosé or white - pressing grapes or pomace is always a decisive stage in wine production. First step on the way to white wine and some rosé wines, last step in the red wine production, pressing the grapes as gentle as possible always is the key to succes and great wines.

Carried out with special wine presses of different types and constructions, the press cycle takes about two to three hours for freshly picked grapes, for pomace often a little less. During the process, pressure is steadily increased, held, and removed again. The pressure-free phases are used to drain the juice or wine from the press. For the same reason the grape mass may be turned around in the press from time to time. But beware! All operations should be done with moderation, because the rougher you handle the harvest, the rougher the wine will taste!

Gentle and progressive enhancement of the pressure are two essential factors to obtain a high-quality must or press wine. It is not just about brutally crushing the grapes. Instead, one tries to burst each individual cell inside the berries to release its juice. Maturity rarely is homogeneous inside the berries. The central part of the fruit is usually more mature (more sugar, more acidity, more aromas), than the parts close to the pips and the skins. This difference is even more pronounced when harvest is brought in early. During cautious and progressive pressing, mature cells burst first, while the less mature cells release their juice only at high pressure towards the end of the pressing process. Thus the first two thirds of the must are usually of finer quality than the last third.

Some winegrowers and winegrowing regions, such as Champagne, separate both factions and make different wines from them. Both fractions can, however, complement each other and produce a more complete wine. So, unite or rather separate? The answer to this is left to any winemaker.

#Champagne J.Vignier tasted by Andreas Larsson

Champagne J.Vignier Grand Cru “Ora Alba”
Light golden colour with a green hue and mild mousseux. Open nose, some evolution and complexity, fresh butter, roasted nuts, yellow stone fruit and ripe citrus. Good bite and grip on the palate, bone dry with good balance, fresh and integrated acidity with a mild creaminess and a long lingering finish.

Champagne J.Vignier “Silexus Sézannensis”
Bright light golden colour with a lively mousseux. Generous nose, displaying tropical fruit like mango, peach, saffron almond paste and some brioche. The palate is bright and fresh, medium weight and rather dry towards Extra Brut, youthful but balanced in a generous vinous style with good grip and length.

Champagne J.Vignier Grand Cru “Les Longues Verges”
Bright light golden colour with young lively mousse. The nose is roasted with nutty notes, melted butter, yellow fruit, citrus and vanilla, probably a hint of oak. Medium bodied, rather vinous with a creamy texture, bright freshness, attractive fruit, some brioche and butter on the finish with good length and nutty finish.

A good glass of ... #Champagne Paul Lebrun Demi-sec

Sugar is currently not really fashion. Nevertheless, or for that very reason, I have great respect for the choice of Nathalie and Jean Vignier to preserve this traditional wine style created by their parents and grandparents. A relic of the past century, a memory of the 1960s Champagne style, or a well-guarded secret in the form of a succulent champagne bonbon?

Made of grapes from the family vineyards in Barbonne-Fayel and Saudoy (Coteaux du Sézannais), a base wine from 2012 and a reserve wine from 2011, dosage done with in-house liqueur, 37 grams of sugar and a delightful, sweetish-soft taste! Hazelnut and vanilla aromas bring in sweet spices, red currants and limes ensure freshness, as do the sparkling little bubbles. Lemon aromas and slight bitterness give the wine a fairly long finish.

This champagne loves to come to your family aperitif, accompanied by some puff pastry with cheese or toasts with butter and sardines. For dessert I recommend a pear tart with vanilla ice cream.

The family has been cultivating vines in Cramant for six generations. Today, the estate covers 16.5 hectares of vineyards in Cramant, Oiry and Chouilly, as well as in the Sézannais (Saudoy), all planted between 1950 and 2010. The estate produces two different brands. The brand named after the grandfather Paul Lebrun includes the traditional champagne of the family. In addition, there is the new brand J. Vignier, producing single vineyard champagne. One of them comes from a vineyard in the Coteaux du Sézannais, planted with a mass selection from Cramant. The wines of J.Vignier are all fermented in stainless steel with an Extra Brut dosage.

The cuvee Ora Alba Brut Grand Cru comes from Cramant, Oiry and Chouilly. It’s made of 70 percent reserve wines from 2008 and contains 30 percent of wines from 2009 and 2010 and ages on fine lees for at least four years. It shows a lot of spiciness, restrained fruit, it’s compact, powerful, takes some time to open up.

The Silexus Sezannensis is a pure Chardonnay (like all the wines of J.Vignier) from the area of Chatet in Saudoy. ​​It’s a pure 2011 harvest and also ages for at least four years on yeast. It shows fine spiciness, is powerful, compact and clear, possesses good substance.

The Les Longues Verges Brut Grand Cru entirely made from a single vintage, comes from a vineyard of the same name, which is located partly in Cramant, partly in Chouilly. It shows fine spiciness, discreetly white fruits, is powerful, stuffy and grippy, very youthful.

The Brut Millésimé 2008 comes partly from Cramant, partly from the Sézannais and has been aged on fine lees for seven years. It shows a lot of spiciness, discreet smoky notes, is compact, powerful, but somehow reserved, possesses good substance and structure.

A good glass of... #Champagne Paul Lebrun Extra Brut Blanc de blancs

This champagne Blanc de blancs with low dosage (4g / L), shows very fine bubbles rising quickly in the glass. It shows a clear and fresh bouquet of lemons, limes and a hint of cumquat, joined by white peaches after a few minutes in the glass. Clear acidity on the palate, with tingling, well-integrated bubbles and surprising aromas of spices and dried flowers and a long, mineral, slightly salty finish. A champagne with a lot of crunchiness that leaves a pleasant, juicy aftertaste.

FOOD PAIRINGS FOR OMNIVORES: The slight saltiness of the wine immediately orientates me toward seafood and “maki”, this tasty sushi variation with Nori algae. Served for an aperitif you may simply join some appetizers of puff pastry and cheese, as well as blinis with salmon tartar.

Nathalie Vignier - “At the beginning of our project to create terroir champagne, we have made some decisions...” #Champagne J.Vignier

Only grapes from our own vineyards are used to make the wines. They come from selected vineyards with an unique terroir.

Through low yields and meticoulous quality control, we aim to produce tasty and healthy grapes.

We have decided to ferment in steel tanks which preserves the purity and character of the fruit.

Thanks to their naturally strong freshness and minerality, all wines do malolactic fermentation. This increases their aromatic diversity.

After bottle fermentation, the wines mature for 4 to 8 years on the fine lees, according to the needs of the different cuvées and vintages.

Dosage “Extra Brut”, what else?

The first bottle of champagne J.Vignier left our cellars for a journey to America in 2015! A small step for humanity, a great step for us. No less than 10 years of reflexion, vinification and patience preceded this journey.